Children & cars

[Pages:56]children & cars

A SAFETY MANUAL

children & cars

This safety manual helps anyone who drives with children reach a better understanding of child safety matters. For Volvo Cars, it's an issue that has engaged us for over 40 years. This is what we have learned. Have a safe journey!

1. KNOWLEDGE SAVES LIVES 7 EASY TO GET IT WRONG 7 CHILD RESTRAINTS 8

2. THE MOTHER TO BE 11 SAFETY FOR THE UNBORN CHILD 13 MEET HELENA HJORT 14

3. REARWARD-FACING CHILD SEATS 17 BABY'S FIRST JOURNEY 17 MEET THE STR?MBERG L?FVENIUS FAMILY 21 WHY REARWARD-FACING CHILD SEATS? 22 DOCUMENTING THE DIFFERENCE 27 MEET THE EXPERT LOTTA JAKOBSSON 31 CRASH TEST DUMMIES 33 FAQ ON REARWARD-FACING CHILD SEATS 36 MEET THE LEDIN H?GLUND FAMILY 41

4. BELT-POSITIONING BOOSTERS 42 FAQ ON BELT-POSITIONING BOOSTERS 46

5. REQUIRED BY LAW 51 THE ELEPHANT IN THE REAR SEAT 51

REFERENCES 53

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CHILDREN & CARS

1. Knowledge saves lives

ALL PARENTS WANT to give their children the best possible protection. In the car as well as everywhere else. Even so, children are still suffering injuries or even dying because of incorrectly fitted child seats, or because the type of child restraint they were using was wrong for their age, height and weight. Or ? even worse ? because they were travelling completely unrestrained in a car.

The cause of the problem is often simply a lack of knowledge. People sometimes think they have fitted a child seat correctly, when in fact they haven't. They may think that a child can safely switch from a rearward-facing seat to facing forwards at the age of just one or two years. When it shouldn't. They may think they have adjusted the safety belt correctly. When they haven't.

EASY TO GET IT WRONG

One Swedish study revealed that only 40% of three-year-olds had a rearward-facing child seat, although all three-year-olds should still be using seats which face the back of the car.

The same study found that some users of boosters placed the diagonal belt under the arm instead of across the shoulder, as well as incorrectly routing the lap belt. The lap section of the safety belt should go across the top of the child's thighs, not across the stomach.

A few children were even sitting on the lap of the driver or other passengers. Airbags were another area where failings were found in usage/behaviour.

CHILDREN & CARS

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Contrary to recommendation, some children were seated with an active airbag. Children in a rearward-facing child seat must not sit in the front passenger seat with a frontal airbag (unless the airbag has been switched off).

This publication has been devised to help parents and others who carry child passengers to become better informed about the safety of children in cars. It should provide answers to many of the questions that new parents and parents-to-be often ask.

CHILD RESTRAINTS At Volvo Cars we have the advantage of being able to look at child safety with both the car and child seat in mind, making them work together in the best possible way to ensure children have a safe journey.

Our focus lies on two kinds of child restraints ? rearward-facing child seats and belt-positioning boosters, integrated or accessory, using the cars own safety belt.

Our most important mission? To stress the importance of using the right child restraint for the child's age, height and weight. All our tests, research and data, gathered for over 40 years, give the same answer: The safest way of travelling in a car is rearwards. Therefore, babies and young children should travel facing the rear of the car for as long as possible.

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CHILDREN & CARS

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